InvoCare Limited bids for Norwood Park

It seemed as though Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP) was going to acquire all the shares of Norwood Park Limited, but InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) may have just trumped the newly-listed company.

Late on Tuesday afternoon InvoCare announced that it had put in a takeover offer for all the issues shares of Norwood Park. InvoCare is offering $65.29 in cash for each ordinary share of Norwood Park.

InvoCare said that the offer had been made after several months of discussions between the parties. The offer price represents a 10% premium to the $59.35 per share offered by Propel…

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It seemed as though Propel Funeral Partners Ltd(ASX: PFP) was going to acquire all the shares of Norwood Park Limited, but InvoCare Limited(ASX: IVC) may have just trumped the newly-listed company.

Late on Tuesday afternoon InvoCare announced that it had put in a takeover offer for all the issues shares of Norwood Park. InvoCare is offering $65.29 in cash for each ordinary share of Norwood Park.

InvoCare said that the offer had been made after several months of discussions between the parties. The offer price represents a 10% premium to the $59.35 per share offered by Propel Funeral Partners.

Norwood Park performs over 2,000 cremation services per year across its operations and generates revenue of approximately $4.8 million a year. Clearly, both InvoCare and Propel would benefit from acquiring the business.

Mr Martin Earp, CEO of InvoCare said “We believe this is a compelling offer for the shareholders of Norwood.”

“It represents superior value for all Norwood shareholders compared to the lower offer from Propel or indeed, continuing as a stand-alone business.”

“In turn, the Norwood business fits well with InvoCare’s geographic in-fill and new market objectives under the five year “Protect and Grow” plan which we announced and began rolling out during 2017”.

If all of Norwood’s shares are acquired by InvoCare the total cost will be just over $15 million, which will be funded from cash reserves and credit facilities.

The offer will need to be accepted by at least 90% of Norwood’s current securities on issue.

InvoCare has also sought confirmation from the ACCC that it won’t seek to intervene with the proposed acquisition. The ACCC will contact a public informal merger review and a decision is expected by March.

Each one pays a fully franked dividend. Each one has not only grown its profits, but has also grown its dividend. One increased it by a whopping 33%, while another trades on a grossed up (fully franked) dividend yield of almost 7%.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of InvoCare Limited and Propel Funeral Partners Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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